Aussie burger patties....anyone have any secrets?

[Kenny202]

We make beef burgers at home sometimes and use 100% beef, apart from a little seasoning and herbs....no binder or anything. I had a beef burger last night was superb, just like a burger back home from a good old fashioned Chinese / Greek take away place. It was the texture of the meat that was so good....really well binded. I suspect maybe they use some pork, maybe 50/50 and something else. Seemed like it had some coating on the outside also, make it a brown well on the outside....maybe oyster sauce or something.

 

I know you can use egg, bread crumbs etc as binder and its ok but it's always a home made type result. And just using pure beef is nice too but always a more crumbly texture, I know Italians use bread soaked in milk for their meatballs. Maybe something like that?

[KhunLA]

I use local Thai beef for burgers.  It's a burger.  Either have brisket ground, and I choice the pieces of, or have lean beef ground, again, I chose the beef.

 

I cook beef in Beef Tallow only, for added flavor, and no fillers, just some seasonings.  Quite tasty, and better than anything served from any vendors ... IMHO

[Ralf001]

Mince, 75% beef 25% pork.

weetbix.

woosty sauce.

tomato sauce.

egg.

diced red onion.

salt and pepper.

.

Lush.

 

[impulse]

I gave up on finding reasonably priced, decent quality Thai beef and went to making pork and chicken burgers.  I ground my own at home with a $15(USD) meat grinder and had excellent burgers.  I added condiments and veggies to the burgers in lieu of putting anything into the ground meat.

 

I also made my own Italian and Breakfast sausages using the same materials plus spices available in several marketplaces and online recipes.  I didn't use a sausage stuffer and casings, I just fried them up.

 

BTW, I also got a few bad batches of ground pork and that's why I started grinding my own at home.  I bought a patty press from Lazada to keep them consistent and froze some for cooking later.

 

 

[Kenny202]

There was some Thai beef sold by Makro up until a few months ago....Pro Butcher brand and labelled "Dairy beef". I was buying 300 gram rump steaks for 90-120 baht a pack. Literally the most tender, flavorful beef I have ever eaten, and I am from Australia. I made the most of it while available but as always when Makro offer a really good, well priced product, they try and produce it themselves (poorly) . They still have a product labelled Dairy Beef but packaged under their own ARO brand. Its awful. Even so Makro sell Australian beef reasonably cheaply between 300-400 baht kg. Its not premium but decent and certainly good for burgers....you can use the cheaper cuts like chuck and brisket which is perfect for burgers. My wife had a burger restaurant and ground it up herself.

 

I like the idea of pork burgers but always seem to cook a bit mushy for my liking. Tried adding all sorts of things with no luck.

 

I too make sausages, bacon, bread, pies, jams. My pork breakfast sausages now are the best I have ever eaten. Grind my own shoulder pork so I can control fat content to around 20-30%. Got a cheap stainless hand wind sausage stuffer off Lazada for around 1200 baht (holds around 2kg) and I use natural hog casings. The stuffer broke after a few uses, typical of Chinese stuff these days (and getting worse). One of the brackets stainless spot welds broke. Were picking up the kids from school one day and saw a guy welding up some stainless gates and asked him if he could do a quick welding job. 200 baht and like a new one 🙂

 

Not sure on your skill level but my issue again when I first started doing sausages was texture. Dry and crumbly, too fatty. Sometimes decent, sometimes not and making a 5kg batch you want them to be consistent. The dog got quite a few batches. Someone put me onto a series of you tube videos "two guys and a cooler" showing the proper way to create sausages so they have that lovely bound, firm texture and retain all their juices and fats. It's all about Myosin creation which is achieved by proper salt levels, icy cold meat (before grinding) and mixing until a sticky mix is achieved. Its a real game changer. Not rocket science at all....15-18% salt, 10% water....All your bowls and steel grinding parts and cubed meat in the freezer until par frozen (before grinding). After grinding add your spices etc and mix in a stand mixer until the mixture gets thick and sticky. No need for any binders or thickening to your mix. Just 100% pork 🙂 If you are interested, have a look at the you tube videos. Was a real game changer for me. My batches now perfect and consistent every time. I do the thick sausages now. I was doing the thin breaky sausages in synthetic casings but didn't cook very well. The thick ones are much nicer. I like the outside of my sausages brown and crispy and by the time I achieved this by cooking for a while the inside was overdone. I coat mine in cornflour before cooking now. Really nice brown crusty coating

 

 

[Yellowtail]

After all the disappointments, I've gone to straight pork. 

 

With beef, a coarser grind and a lot of fat typically makes for a good burger that binds well.

 

For all burgers, I like to smash patty thin (I use wax paper and a plate) cook them hot and they plump and juice-up nice. 

 

I think ground beef really needs a good bit of salt to bring out the flavor. 

[save the frogs]

15 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

For all burgers, I like to smash patty thin

yeah, you can experiment with thin smash burgers. 

the "maillard effect" ie the browning gives it flavor. since it's thin, and most of it is crusted, the flavor is intense.

and some burger places specialize in this cooking technique for burgers. 

 

[KhunLA]

28 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

yeah, you can experiment with thin smash burgers. 

the "maillard effect" ie the browning gives it flavor. since it's thin, and most of it is crusted, the flavor is intense.

and some burger places specialize in this cooking technique for burgers. 

 

I'll make two, thin, 75gr patties, just for that reason, as the charring does add quite a bit of flavor.  Especially since cooked in the cast iron, instead of a charcoal grill.

 

Advantage of quick cooking also, and no need to pay as much attention as with a thicker burger.

[Yellowtail]

16 hours ago, KhunLA said:

I'll make two, thin, 75gr patties, just for that reason, as the charring does add quite a bit of flavor.  Especially since cooked in the cast iron, instead of a charcoal grill.

 

Advantage of quick cooking also, and no need to pay as much attention as with a thicker burger.

They also cook much faster and more completely. I would much rather have a burger that extend out if the bun, than a ball in the middle of the bun and a burger that looks like it will fall over. 

[1FinickyOne]

Sure, melt some cheese on top - maybe 2 different kinds - 

[pest]

1 sachet of tomato cup of soup per kg of pork mince plus white pepper makes a fantastic pattie

[vincent13]

Diamantina Australian beef mince from Makro is outstanding when they have it, lean and not expensive.

[Keeps]

If making a batch with 500g-1kg of beef I will add an additional quarter weight of minced pork. Then a little soft bread soaked in milk rather than an egg. White pepper. Before cooking I will sprinkle a little crumbled Oxo cube on the burger which gives great flavour. I don't add any salt until I am actually cooking the burger. Usually turn out pretty well and stay moist.

[Yellowtail]

And do not overwork the ground meat, or the patties can fall apart. 

[davb]

On 4/8/2025 at 2:06 PM, Kenny202 said:

There was some Thai beef sold by Makro up until a few months ago....Pro Butcher brand and labelled "Dairy beef". I was buying 300 gram rump steaks for 90-120 baht a pack. Literally the most tender, flavorful beef I have ever eaten, and I am from Australia. I made the most of it while available but as always when Makro offer a really good, well priced product, they try and produce it themselves (poorly) . They still have a product labelled Dairy Beef but packaged under their own ARO brand. Its awful.

 

 

This type of thing has happened to me a lot, and not just with Makro, but MaxValu, Go and Lotus. I've had burger from MaxValu that tasted like a good steak, and then the next week it literally lacks all flavor, which is a strange thing to eat.

It's the same with meat brought in from Australia - it can taste good one week, and then like onions the next.
 

[jas007]

Just out of curiosity, what makes an Aussie Burger and Aussie Burger?  Just the fact that Australian beef is used?

 

I'm in a condo and don't haver any kind of outdoor grilling facilities, so I don't make a lot of burgers.  I do, however, sometimes buy some pre-made burgers from Tops Food Hall grocery store at Central Festival.  Sloans has some good ones and there are a few other brands that are tasty. I sometimes have one of those burger patties for breakfast along with some eggs, instead of a rib-eye steak. 

 

In the US, I could go outside and make a good burger anytime I wanted.  Ground chuck was good, with about 80% meat, 20% fat.  Either on a charcoal grill or gas grill, they usually turned out good.

 

And one time I tried some of this seasoning.  Pretty good.

 

 

 

[Ubonian Canadian]

When we had our pub/restaurant on Koh Lanta 6 years ago I use to buy frozen pre-made beef patties from our only large grocery store. They were imported from India. They were of excellent quality & flavor. My pub was famous for it's burgers and people would travel from all over the Island to come and get one. Our biggest seller. They cost me 260 baht for 10 patties.

I now live 30 minutes from Buntharik, the closest large town, with a small Lotus for shopping.

They sell frozen Ozzy beef which is very expensive, no ground beef. So we now make pork burgers at home. The wife adds a few spices and oyster sauce, makes the patties thin. They come out crispy and juicy with plenty of flavor. Add fried onions, cheese, fried egg, fresh tomatoes and lettuce on a fried sesame bun with mayo and you are in heaven. I have them every 3 days, 2 each time. But I do miss the beef ones we did on Koh Lanta. I added poutine to the menu and it became a hit and a great combo with the burger. 

Does anyone out there know where I can get Indian beef ?

Thanks in advance.

[Harrisfan]

3 hours ago, jas007 said:

Just out of curiosity, what makes an Aussie Burger and Aussie Burger?  Just the fact that Australian beef is used?

 

I'm in a condo and don't haver any kind of outdoor grilling facilities, so I don't make a lot of burgers.  I do, however, sometimes buy some pre-made burgers from Tops Food Hall grocery store at Central Festival.  Sloans has some good ones and there are a few other brands that are tasty. I sometimes have one of those burger patties for breakfast along with some eggs, instead of a rib-eye steak. 

 

In the US, I could go outside and make a good burger anytime I wanted.  Ground chuck was good, with about 80% meat, 20% fat.  Either on a charcoal grill or gas grill, they usually turned out good.

 

And one time I tried some of this seasoning.  Pretty good.

 

 

 

Add pineapple, beetroot, bacon.

[Kenny202]

Well I finally cracked it! The solution for me was to add a teaspoon of corn flour and teaspoon of bread crumbs and mix evenly into the meat ball.100% the texture I was after. I used 80/20 beef and pork but to be honest I would be happy just using pork. I got the idea from  Sarapow (Chinese steamed buns) as the texture of those is close to what I wanted and as I said best burgers I ever had were from Chinese fast food restaurants in Australia. Now having said all that I know the texture of an American burger / designer burger shop is fairly loose and generally pure beef. I prefer them well bound together and a bit of spring when you bite them. Maybe not for everyone.

 

What difference between an Aussie / US burger? I think the meat for start. In our normal takeaway shops they call them beef burgers but I always suspected they are using beef / pork and they tend to be of a firmer texture than using just beef alone. Some are downright horrible and mushy. We also tend to put more herbs in our patties I think. We put more emphasis on salad stuff...lettuce, tomato, onions and of course beetroot 🙂 Then there is the Aussie burger with the lot with bacon, cheese and pineapple but a bit much for me. Most US burgers I see, and only from watching TV seem to be more meat and cheese, sometimes a bit of tomato and pickle. Could be wrong on that.

 

Anyway, the secret ingredient for me is cornflour. Made a batch of rissoles tonight using the same method and best I have ever tried. They were 100% pork with a few herbs, grated carrot and onion. As good as going to your favorite aunties house for dinner 🙂 Thanks for all the advice